UNIVERSITY of VERMONT FOUNDATION ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD of DIRECTORS DRAFT MEETING MINUTES September 23, 2016
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Page 1 of 7 UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT FOUNDATION ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS DRAFT MEETING MINUTES September 23, 2016 A meeting of the Alumni Association Board of Directors of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College Foundation, Inc. was held on Friday, September 23, 2016 at 1:45 pm in the Silver Pavilion at the UVM Alumni House, University Vermont, Burlington, Vermont. MEMBERS PRESENT: Vice Chairman Afi Ahmadi, Rosario Arias, Scott Baldwin, DC Regional Board Representative Bill Bright, Renee Cruise, John Evans, Student Alumni Association Vice President Katherine Fischer, Sally Gregoire, Chairman Penrose Jackson, Stew Jensen, Monty Lovejoy, Elizabeth Marvin, Jeffrey McNulty, Khalil Munir, Bud Ockert, Bernard Palmer, Mike Reardon, Alan Ryea, Myron Sopher, Linda Sparks, Cathy Tremblay, Kate Ullucci and Antoine Williams. PERSONS ALSO PARTICIPATING: UVM Foundation Staff including Rich Bundy, Eileen Dudley, Sarah Lenes, Patrick Maguire, Kim McCrae, Andrea Van Hoven. Foundation Fellows including Dana Gulley ‘10, Molly Kelly-Yahner ‘11, Germain Mopa ‘05, Brian Sozansky ‘11 G’12, and Chris Veal ‘14. Others include Larry Roth and Jeff Schulman. ABSENT: Michelle Howe, Lisa Jacobson, and Joseph Thomas. Chairman Penrose Jackson called the meeting to order at 2:06 pm. I. Welcome Remarks (Penrose Jackson) Chairman Penrose Jackson thanked the committees for their work in advance of the meeting and to all for their participation and attendance at this historic weekend with the opening of the Alumni House and reminded the group that the meeting was a matter of public record. She went on to review the current Board membership demographics, highlighting the diversity in representation. Then Penrose welcomed the new Student Alumni Association leaders (Renee Cruise and Katherine Fischer) and the newly appointed Board Members (Sally Gregoire, Monty Lovejoy, Elizabeth Marvin and Bernard Palmer) and Bill Bright, Lisa Jacobson’s DC Representative. Each person introduced and shared a little bit about themselves. After, Penrose acknowledged the subcommittees and committee chairs, as well as the UVM Board of Trustee subcommittee representatives. She mentioned that recently she and Afi had submitted a written report to the UVM Board of Trustees in advance of their October meeting and would share this with the group at a later date. II. Campus Announcement Presentation The live feed of the announcement of the historic 66 million gift from Dr. Robert Larner ’39 MD’42 to the University of Vermont College of Medicine was shared with the group on the large video board. THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC. Grasse Mount, 411 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401 (802) 656-8600 · Toll Free (888) 458-8691 · Fax (802) 656-8678 Page 2 of 7 III. Approval of May 20, 2016 Meeting Minutes (Penrose Jackson) The minutes of the May 20, 2016 Alumni Association Board Meeting were presented for approval. It was noted that Linda Sparks name should be added to the section on XI.B. (page 12) with Board members who were reappointed for a second term. A motion was made by Myron Sopher, seconded by Bud Ockert and Kate Ullucci, and the Board members unanimously voted to approve the minutes as presented, with the correction. IV. Campus Engagement (Jeff Schulman, Director of Athletics) Cathy Tremblay introduced and welcomed Jeff Schulman to the meeting. He complimented the Alumni Association on the fantastic new Alumni House and Pavilion, noting the positive implications the space would have for use to the UVM community. Jeff talked about the following: A. His goal for the athletic department to provide engagement opportunities with alumni. B. Provided an update on the success of the Fall teams. C. Shared a department update with a wonderful video that showed different teams, conference affiliations, and the scope of the program. In conjunction with this, he talked about the live streaming of all home games on the web, the Title 9 rule resulting in more women’s than men’s teams, the expansion of the campus recreation program and the financials (expenses; scholarships, compensation and operational ones and revenue; institutional financial aid, ticket sales, NCAA income and the endowment). D. He mentioned some highlights (Virtue Field, 2015-16 Soccer champions, Archie Post field improvements, 2015-16 Men’s Basketball in the post season for 8th time, Ski Team won EISA championship for the 6th time, Men’s lacrosse in the conference championship for the first time, Martin St. Louis Recognition event, and continued academic accolades received by the UVM student athletes) E. The landscape change in college athletics that now allows institutions to provide student athletes benefits and allowances for food and personal expense. In addition, the demand for more modern and competitive facilities for the recruitment of athletes is resulting in a more critical prospective student athlete. F. Departmental goals include pride (for alumni, local community and UVM at large), balance (success in the classroom and field), integrity and first class facilities (for students, fans and event hosting opportunities), endowed coaching positions, endowed scholarships and amazing facilities. G. Challenges include aged facilities (Patrick Gym and Gutterson Field House). H. Jeff shared that the priority in the next few months was to decide with a UVM Trustee subcommittee, the direction to take for facility improvements. Some options are: o New multipurpose facility with converted space for both Hockey and Basketball . Potential Burlington location at the site of Memorial Auditorium . Potential South Burlington sites at the Marcotte School and University Mall o Renovate the existing facilities on campus (for recreational athletes and varsity teams) o Jeff shared conversations with students and other groups he had met with and encouraged the Alumni Board to gather feedback from the regional volunteer leaders as well. THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC. Grasse Mount, 411 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401 (802) 656-8600 · Toll Free (888) 458-8691 · Fax (802) 656-8678 Page 3 of 7 I. Jeff and Cathy Tremblay had met previously to talk about alumni engagement. Some of the topics were alumni events at away games, local events, special celebrations for alumni athletes, the Catamount Mentor Program and the streaming of home games. J. A question and answer discussion with the board members followed. Topics included thoughts about bringing baseball back and the facility improvement plan (the various groups affected; parking; pros and cons of different options in regards to UVM, students, the community and the state; the timing of the plan; and other Universities and Colleges with renovations to look at). V. UVM Alumni House (Alan Ryea, Patrick Maguire and Andrea Van Hoven) Alan welcomed all to the Alumni House and introduced Patrick and Andrea, who made the following presentations. A. Business Operations Update (Patrick Maguire, Alumni House Operations Manager) o 7 students currently comprise the operational team for the house and the event space. They are wearing the green polo shirts. This team has been hired to set up events, break down the events and oversee event tech needs. o Upcoming priorities include internal functions of the House and Pavilion. Art Gallery with a student Art Curator and rotating displays highlighting UVM students, UVM community members and local artists. UVM Collector’s Library with alumni books. UVM Emeriti Faculty Library B. Sales and Financial Update (Andrea Van Hoven, Alumni House Director of Sales) o Events are used by three groups; the public, UVM and alumni. o Marketing and promotion of our rental spaces can be done with the help of our board, the VT Regional board, the UVM community and all alumni. st o The public rental spaces are in the main house (individual rooms/areas on the 1 floor, part of the 2nd floor and porches) and in the Pavilion. o Pricing is broken into three groups; general public at full rate, nonprofit/Lifetime Association members with a 10% discount and UVM affiliations with a 50% discount) o Andrea reviewed the reservations on the calendar. There are 130 reservations/holds through 2017. 95% of the reservations/holds are UVM related (Med Ctr, COM, Schools and colleges). There are 3 or 4 with the external/public. With every event we have, there are follow up inquiries and our reservations/holds continue to grow. o Andrea reviewed the marketing plan. The UVM community was invited to take tours. Andrea led about 50 tours, and Patrick, Alan, Sarah and Eileen hosted many more. Print campaign underway with VT Bride and Seven Days. We have some web presence and plan on much more. THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION, INC. Grasse Mount, 411 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401 (802) 656-8600 · Toll Free (888) 458-8691 · Fax (802) 656-8678 Page 4 of 7 . The web page will be redone so it is linked to the Alumni Association and UVM Foundation but is also public facing. Mid-October there is a planned photo shoot with vendors and wedding professionals. The board was asked to help by distributing business cards to friends, community members and co-workers promoting the space for events and weddings. November there will be an Open House. o A question and answer discussion with the board members followed. Topics included social media (Instagram, Facebook, link/tag weddings); uses for the space (drink nights, young alumni happy hour, alumni visitors with the option to use office space, to sit and visit, pregame socials); create wedding packages with 1 stop shopping, all-inclusive options; outdoor space options with tents to increase group size; clarification of current size (200-225 for all and 150 seated). o The board discussed a desire to have a business/reservations dashboard that tracks rentals and expenses to the budgeted projections that could be shared on a quarterly basis. o Regional boards and committees goal is to see how the space can be used to enhance their own committee goals.